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> To many drivers' surprise, though, the tolls during rush hour were high, hitting $34.50 Monday morning and reaching $40 Tuesday. Is this like "surge pricing"

> To many drivers' surprise, though, the tolls during rush hour were high, hitting $34.50 Monday morning and reaching $40 Tuesday. Is this like "surge pricing" on tolls? I thought most of the tolls are fixed to allow people know in advance what they must pay. If it increases based on demand, I think people will get mad. I think the psychology, if any, need not go towards the two choices. But rather what people thought the "dynamic pricing" will be and that was $5-$6 on average. People get mad at ride sharing companies for their "surge pricing" so this seems in the same mold.

fosco 9y ago
Yes, this is not the first private toll road whose price fluctuates by demand in northern VA. They are also on the behest themselves and probably higher areas by now...sometimes 2 miles being 6-8 dollars...however it can easily save 45 min and therefore to many completely worth it. Many use the savings to also justify the dulles toll road as well as a normal commuting road. The hov restriction makes committing difficult during normal hours. When I lived there I wished they would improve the metro system, pricier than NY and not as frequent however much cleaner...
ShabbosGoy 9y ago
Not sure how it works in VA. I know in SoCal, you are metered by distance, and you can calculate your own tolls. It has nothing to do with traffic congestion.
- khedoros1 9y ago
  Tolls on parts of the 91 change with traffic congestion. Probably some others too, but that's the one I'm familiar with.
smacktoward 9y ago
These tolls are part of the new-ish "Express Lanes" system, which have tolls set dynamically based on demand: http://www.66expresslanes.org/about_the_lanes/default.asp http://www.66expresslanes.org/about_the_lanes/default.asp Express Lanes were rolled out a few years ago on I-495, aka "the Beltway" that rings DC. Now they've been extended to I-66, the main artery that links the Virginia suburbs to DC's west.
jeffwilcox 9y ago
Here in Washington state our 405 lanes have new "Express toll" lanes; if you have 3+ people during rush hour you get to use them free, otherwise for 1-2 people you pay up to $10 based on congestion... The prices are mostly set dynamically to in theory keep the average speed above a specific number to qualify for federal funding of the work.
sliverstorm 9y ago
Ride sharing surge pricing gets nasty when it's a national disaster or other major unpredicted event and the rates are sexdecoupling, because it begins to look like profiteering off human misery. But moderate surge pricing is already a fact of life on ride sharing services.
- eru 9y ago
  Alas, in exactly those unpredicted disaster events the surge pricing would be useful.
  - sliverstorm 9y ago
    How do you figure? Everybody needs to be evacuated, not just the wealthy.
    - eru 9y ago
      Wishful thinking doesn't increase the resources available. If there's more demand than supply, some kind of rationing will kick in. Luck of the draw, queues, higher prices, .. Surge pricing encourages more supply (ie drivers), too.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
PeterisP 9y ago
Yes, the whole point of this pricing is not to maximize revenue but to ensure that the total traffic is kept below a certain level - in peak hours it's not enough to charge the maximum what people are willing to pay with clenched teeth, you must go beyond that, you must set it so high that a significant portion of riders in peak hours will refuse to pay it and drive elsewhere or it's not doing its job.

fosco 9y ago

Yes, this is not the first private toll road whose price fluctuates by demand in northern VA. They are also on the behest themselves and probably higher areas by now...sometimes 2 miles being 6-8 dollars...however it can easily save 45 min and therefore to many completely worth it. Many use the savings to also justify the dulles toll road as well as a normal commuting road. The hov restriction makes committing difficult during normal hours. When I lived there I wished they would improve the metro system, pricier than NY and not as frequent however much cleaner...

ShabbosGoy 9y ago

Not sure how it works in VA. I know in SoCal, you are metered by distance, and you can calculate your own tolls. It has nothing to do with traffic congestion.

khedoros1 9y ago
Tolls on parts of the 91 change with traffic congestion. Probably some others too, but that's the one I'm familiar with.

smacktoward 9y ago

These tolls are part of the new-ish "Express Lanes" system, which have tolls set dynamically based on demand: http://www.66expresslanes.org/about_the_lanes/default.asp http://www.66expresslanes.org/about_the_lanes/default.asp Express Lanes were rolled out a few years ago on I-495, aka "the Beltway" that rings DC. Now they've been extended to I-66, the main artery that links the Virginia suburbs to DC's west.

jeffwilcox 9y ago

Here in Washington state our 405 lanes have new "Express toll" lanes; if you have 3+ people during rush hour you get to use them free, otherwise for 1-2 people you pay up to $10 based on congestion... The prices are mostly set dynamically to in theory keep the average speed above a specific number to qualify for federal funding of the work.

sliverstorm 9y ago

Ride sharing surge pricing gets nasty when it's a national disaster or other major unpredicted event and the rates are sexdecoupling, because it begins to look like profiteering off human misery. But moderate surge pricing is already a fact of life on ride sharing services.

eru 9y ago
Alas, in exactly those unpredicted disaster events the surge pricing would be useful.
- sliverstorm 9y ago
  How do you figure? Everybody needs to be evacuated, not just the wealthy.
  - eru 9y ago
    Wishful thinking doesn't increase the resources available. If there's more demand than supply, some kind of rationing will kick in. Luck of the draw, queues, higher prices, .. Surge pricing encourages more supply (ie drivers), too.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

PeterisP 9y ago

Yes, the whole point of this pricing is not to maximize revenue but to ensure that the total traffic is kept below a certain level - in peak hours it's not enough to charge the maximum what people are willing to pay with clenched teeth, you must go beyond that, you must set it so high that a significant portion of riders in peak hours will refuse to pay it and drive elsewhere or it's not doing its job.